Ghaziabad metro’s revised DPR to be put up in next cabinet meeting

The state cabinet is likely to put forward a cabinet note in the forthcoming meeting for clearing the revised detailed project report (DPR) for the 9.41-kilometre metro project. Once cleared, the project will get a grant of ₹402.4 crore from the Union government.

Officials of the Ghaziabad development authority, the nodal agency for the project, said that the state administration on Wednesday sought a brief on the project which is to be attached along with the cabinet note.

“It has been confirmed that the cabinet note for the revised DPR clearance is going to be put forward in the next cabinet meeting. The meeting may take place within a fortnight. We have sent the details of the project as sought by the state officials,” said Kanchan Verma, vice-chairperson, GDA.

The cabinet clearance from the UP government was pending for past one-and-a-half years when the Samajwadi Party was in power. Several Ghaziabad MLAs and GDA officials have assured CM Adityanath and several state officials on the project being put on the fast-track.

The project is under construction in Ghaziabad on an elevated corridor and will connect Delhi’s Dilshad Garden metro station to the new bus-stand in Ghaziabad and will have eight stations in between.

The cost of the project has been pegged at ₹2,210 crore, which includes ₹1,479.6 crore share of UP agencies including UP state industrial development corporation, GDA, municipal-corporation and Avas Vikas Parishad. Of this, the GDA has paid the majority of its ₹695.8 crore share, while the funds from other departments are still awaited. The rest amount is to be borne by the Union government and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.

“The funding pattern for different UP agencies will remain the same and the revised cost of the project will be borne in same ratio as decided earlier,” Verma, added.

The previous cost of the project was ₹1,770 crore as per 2012 price index and it got escalated to the present cost of ₹2,210 crore. The previous cost was to be shared by different UP agencies in a specified ratio. Now, with the cost escalation in place, the UP agencies will share the cost as per the previous defined ratio.

The cabinet clearance of the revised DPR will allow cash infusion worth ₹402.4 crore from the Union government into the project, a much needed boost for the project as the other UP agencies are yet to pay their share fully.